Daily Archives: February 12, 2013

The arrival of the iPad in 2010 was supposed to be a game-changer for magazine brands but subscriptions never took off as expected, especially among women. Now, that’s starting to change thanks to smaller screens that can fit in a purse.

Speaking at the D: Dive Into Media conference in Southern California on Tuesday, Hearst Magazines President David Carey said that 10-inch screens appealed to men for magazine content but that women were reluctant to embrace them. The 7 inch screen such as those found on the Nook or iPad, however, are leading to a surge in female subscribers.

Consumers want an elegant experience where the technology flows to the background. The real magic happens at the intersection of these, and Apple has the ability on all three of these spheres to innovate like crazy and really cause magic.

Boldfaced emphasis added by me.

Magic is what it’s all about.

Doing something that astonishes, that delights, that is unpredictable.

It reminded me of a prior post, that shows magic is not limited to technology: My Holy Shit! List

Dale Lazarov, a gay comic writer, said it was counterproductive to attack Card’s appointment: “I’ve known Orson Scott Card is a raging homophobe since the early 90s. I refuse to buy or read his work. But asking that he be denied work because he is a raging homophobe is taking it too far. Asking for workplace discrimination for any reason is counterproductive for those who want to end discrimination on their own behalf.”

Card is entitled to what he believes. I’ll still buy his books if I want to. And when I buy his books, I’m buying his work. All I ask out of any writer is compelling work. What they do outside of their work is their own damn business.